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Before Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Returns, Watch Apple TV+’s Great New 97% RT Sci-Fi Show

June 13, 2025

For fans of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds who can’t wait for season 3, Apple TV+’s Murderbot is the perfect show to watch in the meantime. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 is set to premiere on July 17 on Paramount+, but there’s still over a month until it will be ready to stream. That’s an almost unbearable wait, especially given all the teases Strange New Worlds season 3 has to answer after the cliffhanger ending of Strange New Worlds season 2. While there are plenty of other Star Trek shows to watch, Strange New World fans may be looking for something a bit different.

Luckily, Apple TV+ has the perfect replacement for Strange New Worlds. Murderbot already has a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s easily one of the most promising new sci-fi shows out there. Alexander Skarsgård leads the cast of Murderbot as the titular SecUnit, an android that provides security for a group of hippie explorers whose lives are constantly in danger. It’s a show about Murderbot learning to be an independent person and trying to survive in a deeply dangerous sci-fi world, and it’s perfect for fans of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Murderbot Is A Fantastic New Sci-Fi Show With Hilarious Star Trek Parodies

Murderbot’s Sanctuary Moon Is A Spoof Of Star Trek, But It Also Has Plenty For Sci-Fi Fans In General

The single best reason to watch Murderbot while waiting for Strange New Worlds season 3 is because of Murderbot‘s fictional show The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon. Sanctuary Moon is essentially a parody of Star Trek, complete with a crew of dramatic space explorers, colorful costumes, and more. Strange New Worlds itself is an homage to the history of Star Trek, and Murderbot was also clearly inspired by the legendary franchise. Sanctuary Moon is also perfect for Star Trek fans who don’t mind seeing some of the franchise’s sillier elements played for comedic effect, and you may even identify with Murderbot, who is a Sanctuary Moon superfan.

Sanctuary Moon isn’t the only reason Murderbot is such a great replacement for Strange New Worlds, however. Murderbot features many of the same sci-fi elements that make Star Trek so beloved, from exploring a novel and dangerous world to the interpersonal drama of a group of scientists and experts on a deadly mission. Plus, Murderbot has a huge focus on the technology and logistics of its sci-fi setting, which is one of the many highlights of Star Trek. Strange New Worlds specifically also has a darker tone and more brutal violence than many earlier Star Trek shows, which fits perfectly with Murderbot‘s corporate dystopia and utterly gory action sequences.

Alexander Skarsgård’s Murderbot Character Is Reminiscent Of Star Trek’s Data

Murderbot & Data Both Balance Their Artificial Minds With The Illogical Humans They Work With

The single biggest similarity between Murderbot and Star Trek, however, isn’t Sanctuary Moon; it’s the Apple TV+ show’s main character. Murderbot is extremely similar to Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Picard. They’re both hyper-intelligent artificial lifeforms who don’t truly understand humanity but have to work alongside humans nonetheless. At the start of his story, Data also didn’t have human emotions or understand strange parts of human culture, and Murderbot is just as socially and emotionally clueless. Data eventually wants to become more like the humans he works with, and Murderbot ends up getting there too in The Murderbot Diaries.

Murderbot Release Schedule
Episode Title	Release Date
FreeCommerce	May 16
Eye Contact	May 16
Risk Assessment	May 23
Escape Velocity Protocol	May 30
Rogue War Tracker Infinite	June 6
Command Feed	June 13
Complementary Species	June 20
Foreign Object	June 27
All Systems Red	July 4
The Perimeter	July 11

There are, of course, some major differences between Data and Murderbot. For example, Murderbot (as the name implies) holds a grudge against humanity and is only prevented from going rogue and killing its owners because it would rather watch shows like Sanctuary Moon. Conversely, Data never had violent urges or wanted revenge against humanity, but his origin story was also a lot less traumatic than Murderbot’s. However, Data and Murderbot are also both endlessly lovable and slightly odd artificial lifeforms that end up saying a lot about humanity, and most Star Trek fans will enjoy Murderbot for that reason alone.